Prelude to Twilight
by LupusSingularis
Summary: A prelude to the Twilight Princess game. Perhaps Link and Zelda met each other before the crisis, but just didn't know how important that meeting would become to the Kingdom in its time of need. Mostly from Zelda's point of view.
1. 1 First Reminiscence

_The Legend of Zelda and its characters are property of nintendo, blah, blah, blah. I've only warped and distorted it for my own evil purposes and do not seek to profit from it. This Story and its visualizations are based on the Gamecube version of the game, you know, the **real** game, as opposed to its copied and mirrored port to the Wii._

_**1 – First Reminiscence**_

The Twilight sky shown through the bars over the window of her room. The magic that held the perpetual mantle of twilight in place was plainly visible as darker specks against the already darkened sky. Her particular, or peculiar, talent for using, and sensing, magic was an inheritance from her bloodline. Sometimes this sense for magic would seem like light or darkness, or even colors. She could feel, or sometimes see, small magics that were usually invisible to most people. Greater magics had effects other than their intended purpose, usually temperature, sound, and luminescence, while Great Works, though none had been performed in ages, had even greater "side-effects." The wielders of such works took precautions to shield themselves and others when spell-casting, if they wanted to live long enough to enjoy the benefits of such workings, or so the history texts told.

This, most definitely, was a Great Working, and anyone, not just the gifted, could have plainly seen the magic in the air. If there was anyone to see it but her, for the rest of the inhabitants of this land were, quite literally, everything _but_ dead. They were like wayward, lost spirits that hadn't realized their fate, or denied it, she couldn't be certain which. For a few moments she had seen them as wisps of spirit and, with her magic-sight, shadows of their former bodies. However, she only saw them for those few moments, before her imprisonment.

The bars on the window were really only an ornamentation rather than a barrier. She was a prisoner of her own decisions. She had made a choice between life and death, with the firm belief that with life there is always hope. She hadn't considered that choosing life could mean a fate that some would think worse than death. She was horrified when she discovered the agonizing truth, and spent the first day in her dank cell on her musty mattress, weeping. Not for herself, but for her people. That was why she wore the traditional mourning cloak of the Royal Family. It was a sad, and fitting, coincidence that this room was where she had previously mourned the death of her father, and where the cloak had been left.

Though generally used to more lavish accommodations, it wasn't the first time that she had needed to accept austere conditions. This, however, was a step below spartan. Even when she did not have stone walls or any solid construction sheltering her, usually during the nighttime rests of her traveling, a canvas pavilion was provided for her. A well supplied pavilion at that. Warmth and provisions were never left wanting, because it was a pavilion fit for a princess. A fact that was all too true since she was a Crown Princess, or used to be, up until her dethronement. She had been Princess Zelda of Hyrule, a prosperous land until its invasion by a darkness long forgotten, and now a desolate wasteland.

So she was left there, though occasionally checked by a guard, to mourn in solitude… or so they thought. She was about to have one most peculiar visitor. One who's origin and purpose would long remain a mystery to the Princess. Now, shortly after her imprisonment, she would meet the strange, little, black and white colored creature with orange hair for the first time.

She was once again standing by the window when she sensed a presence approaching, and not through the only doorway, as was customary of the guard. The creature simply _melted_ through one of the outer walls of the room, and glared at Zelda when it realized that it had been noticed. It put a finger to its lips as a sign to keep silent. If the ease with which the creature had entered, by such obviously magical means, were any indication, it would have attempted to harm her already if it was truly malicious. So she thought it best to follow along for the time being. Also, she could sense the magical power coiled within the creature, and it was a formidable power indeed.

Oddly, it felt like two powers, and they both felt like a shadow. Some magics had an elemental feel, or "taste." It could be fire, water, earth, or air depending on the magic, but some were more exotic, like light, or in this instance, shadow. It wasn't an evil power within the creature, it just held the essence of shadow. Much like bats were at home in the darkness, so this magic was akin to shadow. The other power was like a darker shadow on the first, compressed or fused into something almost tangible. While the darker shadow wasn't malevolent in itself, it craved power and dominance. It held the promise that it could be warped for the purpose of evil very easily. It was almost sentient, and it had superiority issues.

If the creature's intentions were less than friendly, Zelda knew enough defensive and shielding magics against physical and magical attacks. Enough that it may be more difficult to harm her than the creature would think. So she simply watched it look around until its gaze finally settled on the fireplace. It floated across the room until it was directly in front of the flames and looked thoughtful for a moment. The creature made a slight motion with its hand and the fire responded by amplifying three-fold, which the hearth still easily contained, but was enough to conceal the creature when it drifted into the fire itself and sat there. It waited, its eyes glittering from the firelight as it watched the doorway. Zelda turned back to the window and waited as well, knowing that it wouldn't do well to be watching the door rather suspiciously when the inevitable search came.

Zelda didn't have to wait much longer before she heard the heavy steps make their way up the stairs and approach the door. A shadow beast swung the door open without any pause or consideration for the room's usually solitary occupant. Zelda turned and looked at the shadow beast. She didn't make any movement towards it, yet she didn't flinch away from it either when it walked up to her and examined her closely. It looked about the room, making one complete circuit before stopping in the middle of the room and looking at Zelda again. She knew better than to be intimidated or to glance in any other direction than where it was standing, especially not towards the fireplace. So she simply looked at it with the same expression as any other time one of the shadow beasts came to check in on her, bring food, or search the room it as this one was doing now.

Apparently having not found what it was looking for, the shadow beast turned and walked out the same door it had opened, not bothering to close it. Zelda waited until she heard the heavy steps fade down the stairway, and the thick main door at the bottom of the stairs close. The bolt on the outside of the tower door shot home, locking her in. She waited for a few more minutes to pass before she calmly walked over to the door to the room and closed it, somewhat relieved that the shadow beast hadn't made its less-than-polite entrance while she was changing or otherwise indisposed towards a visitor. That was a coincidence that had, mercifully, rarely occurred.

_The first time that she had been visited during an inopportune moment, she had stared at the shadow beast in the doorway, and it stared at her stupidly in return. Her only dress was half-washed in her hands in the washing tub, so the only thing that she was wearing was the blush rising to her cheeks. The color only deepened as her embarrassment changed to anger, and with a sparkling flash, the shadow beast was blasted out the door to roll the rest of the way down the stairs. She had only meant to magically push the shadow beast out the door, but the strength of her emotion had given the spell an extra potency that she hadn't intended. She momentarily feared a reprimand from her keeper until she heard a hissing laugh echo through the towers of the castle, an echo that had to have been magically enhanced to carry so far. Obviously, the Usurper who had taken her place in the Throne Room could see through the eyes of the shadow beasts, and was announcing that he found her defiant response for the rude visit at least somewhat entertaining. Apparently she wouldn't be punished, this time at least. _

Distracted by her reminiscence, she was somewhat startled when she turned around from the door to see the black and white creature floating high enough to look at her face to face, though she schooled her expression not to give away the fact that she had been surprised. The creature stared at her for a few moments, presumably contemplating its next move, and leaned forward to look at Zelda eye to eye for a few seconds. It then promptly turned in place to sit cross-legged in mid-air with its back to Zelda.

"I suppose you're not completely useless, since you were level-headed enough not to draw any attention to me," it announced to the room.

"You're very welcome," Zelda replied, quite diplomatically she thought.

"I suppose you'll want some kind of reward now. That's too bad because I don't have anything to give you. Trying to free you would just attract the attention of the shadow beasts, and neither of us would want that," the creature teased as it smirked at her, looking over its shoulder. "If I did something and they found out that I was here, I wouldn't owe you anything since that would be drawing attention to me after all."

"I suppose that is true," Zelda mused.

The creature turned back to face her with a triumphant grin, reclining on its airy sitting space with hands folded behind its head.

Zelda continued, "Perhaps, then, you could tell me your name? That would seem harmless enough, and then you wouldn't have to feel that you still owed me anything."

The grin instantly vanished from the creature's expression, replaced by a glare and a look of thoughtful consideration. Zelda knew that knowledge of the right name was not at all "harmless enough" and she suspected that this creature knew it as well. A name was a valuable form of information, and possibly a valuable tool for the magically inclined. For a few more moments, it contemplated the ramifications of telling its name to Zelda before contemptuously turning its back on her and sitting in mid-air once again, arms crossed. She thought that it might be finished with her so she walked back to the window and its bleak view, waiting to see if the odd visitor decided to continue the conversation or take its leave of her.

"Midna."

"Excuse me?"

"My name. Midna."

Well at least it hadn't left. Zelda was somewhat interested to find out why this "Midna" was so sought after by the shadow beasts, though she wouldn't dare ask such a sensitive question so early in their still shaky relationship.

"Well then, I suppose a proper introduction is called for. I am Zelda," she announced with a formal bow.

"Oh, I know very well who you are, _Princess_," Midna replied. The creature made it impossible for Zelda to miss the sarcasm dripping from the formal title. Apparently Midna already knew about her, and Zelda was slightly irritated to be at an informational disadvantage to the odd entity, though she didn't dare show it.

"It seems I'm at somewhat of a deficit then, since I only know your name, and that you have some rather unorthodox ways of entering rooms and hiding in them," Zelda admitted.

Midna smirked once again, and Zelda decided that it wouldn't be a bad idea to bolster the creature's ego. It believed that it held the upper hand, if simply because of a sense of mystery. Zelda also had the forethought not to mention that Midna was pursued by the shadow beasts and therefore imply that they might be in an equal predicament.

_It would probably be helpful if I don't wound it's pride_, she thought, _I get the feeling that it would be more cooperative that way, if still unconscionably arrogant. _On the inside, Zelda smirked at her unvoiced jab about the creature's lack of manners, but only inside.

"Maybe you are at a disadvantage, hmm?" Midna lectured, "That's probably something that you're not very used to, living a life of luxury and all. I know that you chose to make things the way that they are right now. This was your short-sighted decision after all, wasn't it? Too much comfort and not enough responsibility, how does that make a good ruler who can make good decisions?"

Zelda chose not to respond. Even before the onset of Twilight, her life hadn't been nearly as effortless as Midna implied. Apparently the creature's information wasn't as accurate or limitless as it would like her to believe.

Midna grinned at her again before drifting over to the window and commenting, "The cloud of Twilight looks so lovely today. I think enough time has passed that I can go back outside and manage not to attract any notice while I finish my search." Another imp-like grin, "Oh yes, the shadow beasts might be looking for me, but I'm looking for something myself. It's a secret, though. You don't really need to know what I'm looking for, but if I find out anything else that's interesting, I might come back and tell you about it. Until then, you can stay here and enjoy your new, simple life." With that, Midna floated through the barred window and off into the distance, leaving Zelda to reflect on the creature's words.

"_I can remember when my life was simpler, I was still learning about my responsibility to the Kingdom in those days, but at least they were uncomplicated,_" and as Zelda stared out the window and its desolate view, her memories turned back to a warm summer day.

***

Most people would think that a Crown Princess wouldn't know the feeling of a slap to the face, but during her fourteenth year, when she was old enough to hold a full-sized rapier without difficulty, the King demanded that His daughter learn how to protect herself. Therefore, the Royal Master-at-Arms was the only person allowed to ever strike the Princess in any way without fear of retribution, to a certain extent. However, it wouldn't do for the masses to ever see their Princess with a bruised face, so it was suggested to the Master-at-Arms that it might be improper to leave any marks that could cause worry or gossip among any commoners that might see her. This was a suggestion that the Master begrudgingly accepted, although when a particularly potent reminder about a hole in her defense was needed, a solid swat with the practice sword to the bottom, midsection, or thigh might leave a bruise, but wouldn't be seen under her dress. While this was a rare occurrence, it was sometimes necessary to drive a lesson home, and a slap to the face when her guard was down might redden her cheek, but wouldn't leave a bruise, and served as an excellent lesson to always maintain her guard when in combat, even when in practice.

The first time it happened, she cried to her father, frustrated and upset, but His grim response was, "In a real situation where you might be required to defend yourself, the consequences would be much more dire. You should be grateful that you will able to practice your lesson and improve for the next time, because there are some that won't be inclined to allow you another chance." This was a harsh reality to being a member of Royal Family, and the Heir at that. While most all of the subjects of the Kingdom loved the Royal Family dearly, there were a few people, both from within and without the Kingdom, who might seek to do her harm, either for personal profit or political gain. It was an unfortunate fact of humanity that greed existed in the dark hearts of some people, and to deny this would be an amazing delusion, one that a King couldn't be permitted to entertain. To soften his reprimand, the King smiled warmly at His daughter and continued, "Now is the time for you to dry your tears and show that you will face adversity with a determined and defiant face, as is the proper response from a future Ruler of our good Kingdom. Remember your lessons and practice, and you will show everyone, especially the Master-at-Arms, that you will strive to surmount any challenge."

Zelda was now seventeen, and as she sat down to lunch with her father, she barely contained a wince as she aggravated a fresh bruise. She wasn't able to completely conceal her discomfort from Him, and He hid a small smile of pride. She didn't complain about her treatment from the Master-at-Arms, she only trained harder so that, with any luck, it wouldn't happen again. As the appetizer was being cleared from the table, the King spoke to Zelda, "I would like for you to sit with me in Court today."

Zelda usually sat in Court, so she wondered why today would warrant a special request over their meal. "Are we expecting any foreign emissaries or special representatives?"

"Nothing quite so exotic, my dear," He replied, "We will be taking reports on the well-being of some of the outlying provinces. I would like for you to see some of the different peoples that inhabit our Kingdom, such as the envoy from Ordona. They haven't made the voyage to the Castle for some time. I trust you remember Rusl?"

Zelda wouldn't soon forget Rusl. He had saved the King from mortal injury on one occasion, and Zelda had deemed it necessary to personally thank him. She knew that he had retired from the Crown Guard shortly afterwards, but not that he now resided in Ordona.

Zelda nodded and replied, "I'll be ready before the start of Court, Father. I'll meet you in the Antechamber so the Herald can announce us both." The King smiled at her reply. She could call him "Father" when there were servants attending them or they were outside in public, and sometimes she even called him "Daddy" when they held there private meals together, but she knew to always refer to him as "Your Majesty" when they were at any official function, including Royal Court. Since the time that she was a small child she been given lessons about how to behave properly during functions of Court: how to speak, how to address Nobles of the Kingdom, what their different Titles meant, and the importance and Order of Precedence of those Titles. She excelled at these lessons and acted very much the prim and proper princess during Court. As with most children, she very much enjoyed play-acting at being grown-up.

At one point in her early youth, Auru, the Royal Tutor, mentioned to the King in a private moment, "Young Princess Zelda is the envy of some of the foreign Ambassadors. Some of the servants have overheard them occasionally gossiping about how they wish that the young Heirs of their own Rulers might act with such grace. I daresay that she will grow to be as fine and lovely a woman as her mother, in fact, the Good Queen would be very proud of Her daughter if She were still here with us." For the Queen of Hyrule, Zelda's mother and the King's ever faithful wife, had passed on immediately after Zelda's troubled birth.

_The King had been waiting outside the birthing chamber as midwives hurried in and out, all the while listening to the horrible cries of His wife. This was the King's first child, but He was not a stranger to childbirth. He had stood by His friends and nobles, waiting with them as the heirs to their houses were brought into the world, and He knew the sounds of pain that accompanied childbearing. He also knew from the sounds that, this time, something was very, very wrong. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, He heard the sound of a tiny voice crying, and knew that His Heir had arrived. After a few minutes the Crown Physician came out to Him and said softly, "You have a daughter, but you must go to Her, there may not be much time." _

_The King knew with a sinking feeling that when the Physician said "Her," he meant the Queen, not the new Princess. He entered the room to see Her holding a bundle to Her chest, but She looked ragged, drained, and pale… and there was blood. _

"_I can't stop the bleeding," the Physician whispered, "It's beyond my abilities. You must speak with Her now, while She still has the strength."_

_The King knelt next to His wife and looked at the tiny face inside the bundle and whispered, "She's beautiful."_

"_Her name is Zelda," the Queen replied, hoarsely, "You'll have to teach her how to be a proper Princess." _

"_But I don't know how to raise a girl! A boy I could teach how to lead and hunt… command and negotiate, but… a girl? I can't possibly hope to…"_

_The Queen looked at Him with a smile and said, "With Life, there is always Hope," and She lifted the child up slightly so that the King could hold His daughter, the Crown Princess. _

_The King gently took the child and stared with wonder at the little face that stared back at him just as intently. He was lost in the glittering tiny eyes for a moment, and then looked back to the Queen, who had just passed during that moment. _

_It was a bittersweet moment for the entire Kingdom, having gained an Heir but lost a Queen. Zelda was new-born and much too young to remember any of the proceedings that marked a Crown Funeral, or the time that the King spent mourning the loss of His partner to the Throne. The Queen was His partner in fact. She was a very strong-willed woman with wisdom to temper Her fierce character, and the King discussed Matters of State with Her on a regular basis, for He valued Her opinions. More than once She had found elegant solutions to problems troubling the King, and He loved Her all the more for Her graceful cunning. She was also very beautiful. Only Queen Rutella of the Zora rivaled Her in loveliness, and had the two female Monarchs not been good friends and of good moral character, it might have been a pernicious rivalry full of jealousy. One that, for all his splendor and bravery, the King would have been positively terrified of finding Himself involved in. _

_After His time of mourning passed, with fond memories of His wife in his heart, the King turned to face the present and the future of his Kingdom. He made many appearances to reassure the public that they still had a Ruler and an Heir, usually with His daughter in His arms and all the genuine joy and pride of any new father._

The King responded to Auru's remark, "I believe her mother still watches over her and _is_ very proud of her, I certainly am as her King, and, more importantly, as her father."

He was thinking of this when Zelda approached him in the Antechamber, wearing a blue dress that reminded Him of one that her mother used to wear to Court. Momentarily lost in His memories, He watched her until He was brought back to the present by her question.

"Is something troubling you, Father?"

He rested one hand on her shoulder and blinked the threatening tears from his eyes, "No, you just reminded me of your mother. I think She's very proud of you, you know, both as a Crown Princess and as Her daughter," then He straitened and assumed the serious demeanor of The King holding Court and continued, "Now, let us begin. As I said before, I would like for you to meet some of the peoples of our Kingdom."

Zelda assumed the same expression as her father, and, when the Herald announced them, they entered Court and took their places on the raised Dias. The King sat on His Throne, with the Queen's Throne unoccupied on his left, Her Crown placed neatly on the velvet seat, while Zelda was seated to his right on a chair of ornate woodwork and velvet the same Royal Purple as the Thrones.


	2. 2 Histories and Backgrounds

_**2 – Histories and Backgrounds**_

Zelda was at her accustomed vantage point in front of the barred window, when she sensed the entrance of Midna. She turned to see the creature once again reclined in mid-air, wearing an attitude of superiority.

"You can't possibly enjoy living in this dismal tower, can you?" Midna idly asked the room in general as a wave of her hand indicated the towering edifice. "Why don't you just leave? These stone walls can't hold you, not with the power that you have."

Zelda wondered if Midna had the same ability as herself to sense magical power. Artifacts or blood could temporarily purchase magical ability for any user, but the ability to sense magic was usually a natural talent, and signified an inborn affluence for magic. Zelda surmised that at least some, if not most, of the power that she sensed in the creature must be of its own nature. The head-piece it wore was the source of the strange power that felt like Shadow-on-Shadow, but that was only a tool, not a necessity.

Another piece of the puzzle that was the mysterious "Midna" had been revealed, but, aside from a simple name, she still couldn't identify exactly who, or what, this extraordinary creature really was. All of the puzzle pieces had created the frame of the picture, but the majority of it was still a gaping void in the middle with no clue as to what the completed result should look like. So far, all that Zelda knew about Midna was that: 1) this creature was a denizen of the same Realm that was the origin of the Usurper, and perfectly comfortable in this magical copy approximating the Twilight Hour; 2) it was magically gifted, if magic was not, in fact, a portion of its essence; 3) it was also being pursued by said Usurper who had taken Zelda's Throne; and 4) it was infuriatingly arrogant, to the point of being an exemplary model of a conceited member of a Royal Family. Using all of the patience that she had learned during her father's, and later her own, diplomatic dealings, Zelda decided to explain her motivations for self-imprisonment to this creature that, most likely, already knew them and was probably only trying to irritate her for its own amusement.

"The stone walls are not what limit me. My responsibility to my Kingdom does, and what might happen to it if I were to suddenly be missing."

"So you still believe that it's _your_ kingdom, do you?" Midna laughed, moving from a reclined position to one of standing in the air with arms crossed. "At least one person would think differently, and it seems that he has the power to hold you, if only by holding your land hostage."

As Midna taunted her, Zelda could see the loathing in its eyes as the creature spoke of the Usurper who detained Zelda and hunted Midna. There was a history between the two that made Midna seethe with fury, and it seemed to be a much more personal offense than what had transpired between Zelda and the Usurper. Midna radiated what could only be described as a lust for revenge, but in an instant, so as not to give too much information about itself, the creature turned its back on Zelda to air-sit and promptly changed the subject.

"The shadow beasts are expanding the Twilight, it's no longer just the area around the castle."

Zelda already knew this. She had been able to see the Veil that divided the Twilight-covered lands from the rest of the Kingdom, but that Veil had disappeared over the course of the previous night, allowing Zelda to see more of her kingdom, though she didn't want to see any of it under these circumstances. It looked like it now extended all the way into the Eldin and Faron Provinces. She wondered about the fate of the fierce but peace loving Goron, and hoped that they had the fortitude to resist any ill that might befall them.

"I found something interesting," Midna teased with a smirk.

To volunteer a tidbit like that was something entirely unexpected, and Zelda remembered Midna mentioning a search the first time that they had met each other.

"So you found what you were looking for, then?"

"Not… exactly…" Midna replied, cryptically. "But it might be one step closer. Maybe he could be convinced to help my search. Depending on how useful he can make himself, you may get a chance to see for yourself."

This was certainly a different turn of events. After all, anyone caught within the Mantle of Twilight was reduced to a spirit form, so unless someone could resist this change as she had, or the person in question was another of Midna's kind…

"You say he's coming here, then?" Zelda asked.

"Not… exactly…" Midna repeated, with a slight note of disappointment, "He's being _brought_ to the castle as we speak, we'll see what use he can be once he arrives. I'll go check on his… progress." With those last puzzling comments, Midna drifted off, leaving Zelda to ponder the fate of the new inhabitants of the expanded Twilight, both human and not. This brought her thoughts back to the interrupted memories of the visitors to the King's Court. On a day that now seemed ages ago.

***

Zelda looked down at those who had gathered in Court from the raised Dias of the Throne Room. She recognized some, but others she did not. Most were Hylian, but there was a small contingent of Goron and one or two of the Zoras. Both were delegates from two races that were Sovereign Nations, not subjects to the King, and they had long-standing Treaties with Hyrule. The three Nations were actually quite friendly, and trade between them was vigorous.

The entirety of the land of Hylia boasted a wide range of ecological and geological models. Mountains, valleys, plateaus, and lakes were all in abundance, and created a diversity of ecosystems that made at least one area of Hylia perfectly suited for each of the races that inhabited it. The key to this diversity was the two mountain ranges that bracketed Hylia.

The Snowpeak Mountains were aptly named, for there were no accounts in the history texts of those peaks ever being barren of snow. So much, that only wild creatures were able to inhabit them. The source of the snow was the heavy, warm, moist air that blew in from the Northwest to be forced upwards by the Snowpeaks and cooled. Inevitably it coated the mountain tops with caps of pure, white snow and ice, and having spent its burden, the parched air was free to pass over the rest of the mountain range.

The mystery was only enhanced by the stories of an impudent and greedy Nobleman's son, who worked under his wealthy father. Rather than wait for his inheritance while living in comfort, the foolish son demanded that he be paid his portion of his father's estate once he came of Age. Thinking he could tame the mountains, the thoughtless boy built a mansion in the Snowpeaks, which became isolated by fierce winter storms and led to his end. Not only did the Nobleman's son and that son's servants and staff suffer, but the Nobleman himself was cast down into financial ruin by the loss of the mountain estate and lives within it. It was a well-known story among the Nobility, often used to lecture young ones about the virtues of prudence. Occasionally, a traveler would lose their way in the mountains and miraculously find a path through the snow back out. Once they made the journey to Castle Town they would sometimes have too many drinks at the tavern and tell wild stories about monsters, called Yeti, who seemed to glide across the ice-covered cliffs like ghosts. No sane, or sober, person would give those stories any serious thought, but the rumors kept most of the adventure seekers out of the snow-covered heights, so there was no proof that the mansion of the Foolish Nobleman's Son was anything more than a legend.

The Death Mountains to the East were named due to their tendency to vent hot gasses that were sometimes poisonous, and always dangerous. Ironically, and contrary to its name, it was a living and growing mountain range. Elemental forces deep within the earth moved and flowed within the depths of the range, and molten rock regularly ruptured from the highest peak. Only the Goron were able to travel the mountain range with impunity, and that was due to their tough, heavy, rock-like bodies that could withstand most of the blasts from the hot vents. How they resisted any poisonous discharge was a different question, and some doubted that the Goron were able to breathe in the same way as the other races, if they did breathe at all. Besides that a female Goron was unheard of, not much was understood about Goron physiology other than that they resembled rocks, maybe more so than anyone really suspected.

The Goron were a fierce and proud race, but also kind and friendly. Of the Goron that Zelda had met, most all of the adults had the attitude of a "big brother" towards any smaller or younger individuals. It was an ideal that was reflected in the governing structure of the Goron, a structure that was, to all of the other races, positively baffling. Part Democracy and part Tribunal Monarchy, they were governed by what could be called a Fraternal Democratic Monarchy. The Goron were, in essence, a fraternity of brothers. When matters of state were in question, all adult Goron were able to voice an opinion during the discussion and participate in the following vote. However, the Patriarch of the Goron Tribe could overrule this vote if he thought it was for the good of the Tribe, and the Elders of the Tribe could overrule the Patriach if they did so in unanimity. Finally, any adult was allowed to petition for an audience with an Elder to try to reinforce that Elder's stand or to try to change his mind. The entire process was convoluted and downright horrifying to a Monarchist, but it seemed to work for the Goron, who appeared to operate as a family without much hint of dysfunctionality.

The Goron Mines were rich in minerals and ores, some of which the Goron sold or traded, and some of which they consumed directly, and rather literally. Of the resources available to the Goron, wood was not among them, nor were textiles or agricultural fibers that could be used to make cloth or rope, and they readily bought or traded for these. Some of the Goron were also Master Smiths, and of their exports, Goronsmithed tools and weapons were the most sought after. There were still a few legends about an ancient hero who sometimes used a Goronsmithed greatsword, a sword of incredible power that would never break or lose its edge, and was second only to the fabled MasterSword.

Nestled on a high plateau between the Snowpeak Mountains to the West, and the Death Mountains to the East, was Zora's Domain. This plateau was where the two mountain ranges abutted each other. The hot, living rock of the Death Mountains warmed a few of the snowy icepacks from the Snowpeaks, the other glaciers simply slid down the foothills until the air was no longer cold enough to keep them frozen. As the ice melted it soaked into the plateau until it pooled underground and bubbled up in the middle of Zora's Domain as a cold spring. However, this wasn't any ordinary spring. There were untold amounts of water stored in the glaciers of Snowpeak, and the Zora Spring vented that huge amount of snowmelt to a powerful river that, over ages, had carved out the great ravine that was spanned by the Bridge of Eldin.

The Zora were ruled by a King and Queen, much like Hyrule. They were mostly self-sufficient, and shared the water from the main spring of Zora's Domain freely. The water was a natural force of nature, and it flowed down Zora's River through an underground river and the ravine to Lake Hylia, at which the Zora maintained a temple and a shrine to their Patron Spirit. They couldn't exactly hold the water from the rest of the people, and there were a few small natural springs in Faron Province and Ordona to the south, but all that they asked was that the water was used respectfully and not wasted. The King saw the wisdom of this and enthusiastically agreed, and when the Zora sold fish and aquatic medicinal herbs or traded them for lamps and torch oil, both Nations prospered. The Zora also sold and traded Zora Coral jewelry, prized for its craftsmanship and innate beauty. The jewelry was exceedingly rare, as the dense Zora Coral grew very slowly, and apprenticeship into the Zora Jewelers Guild was an apprenticeship of decades. An initiate into the Guild would not even be allowed to work true Zora Coral until his or her apprenticeship had been completed and he or she had advanced to Journeyman Level. Rather, soft stone and then lesser coral would be used to mimic carving the pink, iridescent Zora Coral during apprenticeship so that none of the rare harvest would be wasted. A Master instructed his or her student on how to carve a piece of coral in such a way that would retain as much of the substance of the raw material as possible. The ideal result removed as little of the raw Zora Coral as possible, working with the natural curves and angles, while drawing out the play of subtle shades of white, pink, red and purple in an effect much like a Tiger's-Eye gem. Journeyman-crafted Zora Coral was worth its weight in Zora Freshwater Pearls, another sought-after gem. Mastercraft Zora Coral was worth _three times_ its weight in Zora Freshwater Pearls. An exquisite pair of often-coveted Zora Coral earrings was sometimes worn by Queen Rutella, passed down the Zora Royal Line for generations, and the work of a Master whose name had been lost to history.

Bordered on the North by the Zora lands, to the East by the Goron, and to the West by Snowpeak and Desert, the Kingdom of Hyrule lay in the fertile valley between them. Besides the occasional rain shower that skirted around Snowpeak to drift in from the North, an underground waterway, a smaller branch of the river that scored out the ravine, fed the upper highlands north of the castle in Lanayru Province, which bordered Zora's Domain. The Eastern Plains and Southeast Hyrule Field in Eldin Province, bordering the Goron ranges, were fed by underground reservoirs connected to the water coursing through the ravine. To the West were Lake Hylia and the vast Gerudo Desert beyond it. The Lowlands of South Hyrule Field were close enough to the water table created by Lake Hylia that water pooled in a few low ponds and trees grew. Further South, the dense Faron Woods of Faron Province fed off the natural springs there to create an abundant resource for forestry, if it was sensibly harvested and replanted when timber was cut. These lands were the body of Hyrule Kingdom, with Castle Town as its heart in the center. At the foot of the Kingdom, along the Southern border of Faron Province, were the lands of Ordona. It was not part of Hyrule proper, but the village there Swore Fealty to the King of Hyrule. They would be the first line of defense along the southern border, and in turn, Ordona was a Protectorate of Hyrule Kingdom. Other than the martial agreement, Ordona was allowed to govern itself.

Zelda watched the first citizen approach the Dias to report. Of the districts that each person represented, this was the closest to the Castle. Telma, the owner of the tavern off of the South Road, gave her testimony on the commercial health of the markets. She had worked at the tavern since the time that she was Zelda's age. That much Zelda knew from the stories that the King told her about when He was a young man. When He was still just the Royal Heir, He would sneak out of the castle and visit the tavern in commoner's clothes to socialize with the subjects of the Kingdom while in disguise. He wanted to know His people, and none of them were the wiser, except perhaps for the owner, who let a knowing smile show now and then. Zelda fervently hoped that her father didn't know that she had taken up His old hobby, and that He wouldn't find out anytime soon.

The former owner had adopted Telma as his own daughter shortly after she had drifted into town, and put her to honest work before she could resort to pick-pocketing, or anything even less respectable. She made a good waitress, and later a better bartender. She also proved quite adept at breaking up scuffles between patrons who had too much drink. Sometimes a discussion about a difference of opinion escalate into an argument, and then into a fight. On a few occasions she had done more than just intervene, but physically thrown the offending parties out of the front door of the tavern, to the boisterous cheers of the other patrons. She was a striking figure due to her foreign appearance, and she brought a flair of the exotic to the tavern. The owner enjoyed watching her interact with the customers, or rather, he enjoyed watching the customers interact with her. He was an avid watcher, and loved observing people and their behaviors and habits. Once he had trained Telma in every aspect of the business, he felt that he could retire and live comfortably off of his savings, supplemented by the installments that Telma paid him as per their agreement when she bought the tavern from him. He now spent most of his days in the open-air café on the West side of the Main Square, quietly observing the people bustling about, and Telma enjoyed the life of a business owner, rising to prominence among the merchants and becoming their spokesperson to the King.

Telma's dark skin, red-tinged hair, and almond shaped eyes marked her as one of the last descendants of the Gerudo, a race of people that once lived in, and gave their name to, the Gerudo Desert in the West. The winds that had dropped their precious moisture over the Snowpeaks continued down over the Western Plains of the Desert. Bone-dry, these winds scoured the sun-ravaged sands until the whole plain was unfit for any creature not specifically adapted to its stark and desolate landscape. The elements had all but erased any evidence of the Gerudo, except for the nearly-forgotten Arbiter's Grounds. The final destination of only the most vile criminals, it had been expanded from an ancient Gerudo Spirit Shrine. The antique and withered shrine had been hewn directly into the rock there, and an army of masons and laborers had carved and built upon it further so that those scoundrels would see the ultimate triumph of law and order.

Primarily because no one wanted to, no race of people had lived in or ventured there since the disappearance of the lost Gerudo. They were a race of mercenaries and bandits, strong and confident, and they were all women. No one currently alive could remember ever having met a full-blood Gerudo male, and there were old legends about such an occurrence, dark legends about a Gerudo King. The same legends explained the downfall of the race and it's near extinction. However, Telma didn't have any concerns about the old legends, and her only King was the King of Hyrule, who was pleased with her current account of the health of the commercial district.

Prosperity was rampant. All the merchants were doing quite well, and there were a few new additions. A new stall had been constructed near the South Gate, where a Goron merchant, along with his son, was selling hot spring water by the bottleful. Bids were being submitted for the recently vacated space near the West Road. So far the highest bid was from a gentleman who wanted to pitch a large tent for some kind of carnival skill game, but it would be some time before anyone new the result. As Telma spoke, Zelda could tell from the tone that she didn't have a high opinion for the game's master, Purlo. It seemed that Telma didn't trust him, or his game, but if he wasn't fair, word would spread among the populace and he would soon find himself with a lack of clients. The last note of Telma's report was that Chudley's Emporium had once again raised its prices. Already an impossibly expensive retailer, it was largely kept afloat by Jovani's patronage. He lorded his wealth over those of modest assets, and wasn't well liked by Telma, due to his tendency to short-change her tips. She was quietly resigned to the fact that, one day, his greed would be his own undoing. Most all of the items available for purchase at the Emporium could be had for a much lower price in the open-air market stalls, but some of the nobles, Jovani in particular, had peculiar ideas about their appearance of status and how it was affected by shopping with the commoners. The King wasn't about to interfere. The more snobbish nobles could afford it, and it drained their purses enough that they caused less trouble for the Kingdom with their pretentiousness.

The second citizen to report was Iza. She lived with her sister Hena at the border of Zora's Domain in Northern Lanayru Province. They inhabited a cabin on the shore of a fishing grotto located just before the river forked. They also had a brother named Coro, and their family had lived in that area for quite some time. Recently, Coro had moved to Faron Province and was, in fact, the Representative of that area and therefore in attendance. Being siblings, Coro was right behind Iza and would be giving his report once she was done. There was nothing out of the ordinary in Iza's report, aside from her plans to open the fishing grotto to the public and charge a nominal fee to fish there. The plan was to establish the fishing grotto business and let Hena, assuming her place in the family line of fisherman, take over management. Iza would then start a new business of canoe rental with Zora-guided tours down the river to Lake Hylia. The King couldn't find any fault with the plans and gave His approval.

Coro then stepped up from behind his older sister to report on Faron Province. It seemed that events in Faron were less stimulating than in Lanayru. Coro spent his time fashioning lamps and lamp oil to sell to those who would travel through the Faron woods, with its thick canopy that shaded the paths. Occasionally, the monkeys that inhabited the trees would cause some sort of mischief, but that was in their nature, and they hadn't done anything truly damaging, yet.

Renado, the Shaman of Kakariko Village, was the next to approach the King. Kakariko was a spiritual retreat to some, a home to others. Above the Inn, there was a hot spring that was rumored to have regenerative properties. The extent of these properties was unknown, but the spring was undoubtedly relaxing, and soothed the body and soul. The King remarked that some of the canyon passes between the outlying fields had been accumulating boulders and rubble from rockslides, and asked about the production of the next order of Barnes' Bombs for the purpose of clearing them. Renado assured the King that the Bomb order would be completed and delivered on time, and travelers would not be inconvenienced.

The last to approach the King were more unusual, both because of where they were from, and because there were two of them, rather than one. Mayor Bo and Rusl of Ordon Village stepped forward to the foot of the Dias. Mayor Bo was an old acquaintance of the King, and he was the King's Liaison to the Goron. Bo was responsible for nearly all of the trade agreements between Hyrule and the Goron over the past twenty years, and they were all beneficial to both sides.

By some means, by which Bo kept a secret to this day, he had been accepted into the Goron Tribe as one of their own, rather than an outsider Diplomat. Bo was a Goron Brother, and the Goron Representative that the King had questioned only said that Bo had been tested, and succeeded. The Representative thought of Bo as a true Brother and nothing else, and couldn't be convinced otherwise. The King sensed the steadfast resolve in the Goron estimation of Bo and knew that if He pursued the question any further, the only answer that He would obtain was the one that He had already received. From that point on, the King decided that He would rather accept His luck in having such a well suited Liaison, rather than create contention by questioning His good fortune.

The King hadn't made Bo the Mayor of Ordon Village. Bo had been appointed Mayor by the villagers without the King having to use any of His influence. Bo was a strong, natural leader, and the villagers recognized that. Originally, he had moved to Ordon Village because he said that he was a simple man and wanted a simple life where he could raise his daughter Ilia. The King decided that having His Goron Liaison in such a remote area was a small price for the Kingdom to pay for all the service that Bo had given. For all his want of simplicity, Bo enjoyed his place in the village. He once told the King, "A simple life still has its own responsibilities, and running that village is a responsibility that I wouldn't give up for all the world. Those people are my family, just as much as Ilia."

Rusl was a retired soldier, he lived in Ordon Village with his wife Uli, and their young boy Colin. It was only natural that he would accompany Bo on the journey to Hyrule Castle. It wasn't a short journey and travelling it alone would be tedious, and Rusl was the self-appointed protector of the village and its inhabitants, to the chagrin of his wife. Rusl had been a Lieutenant of the Crown Guard, he was an accomplished swordsman, and a quick thinker that kept his wits in battle. He retired from the Guard with the birth of his son, and the King was disappointed to see him leave for Ordon Village rather then stay at the Castle in service as an instructor, but the King understood, considering the circumstances.

_During a voyage to a foreign land, the King had come under direct attack by a band of brigands. The Crown Caravan was traveling through a wooded pass when an alarm was sounded by one of the mounted Guards. Rusl was the closest Guard to the King at that moment, and quickly pulled the King down from His mount to shield Him with his own body, and none too soon, because just then a crossbow bolt shot out and caught Rusl in the side between the ribs. As it was, Rusl was extremely lucky. A political faction would have wanted to assassinate the King and therefore used a poisoned bolt, but these were highwaymen, thieves, and had planned to hold the King for a Royal ransom. The rest of the Guard was able to fight off the bandits and eventually dispatch them, while Rusl stayed by the King, sword in one hand as he clutched his bleeding side with the other. _

_The group was still closer to Hyrule than the foreign kingdom, and needless to say, the voyage was immediately cancelled and they turned back. Rusl was brought back by covered wagon, in which he was treated by the Crown Physician. The King thought it was only fitting that Rusl should receive Royal care since his injuries were earned by saving Him from injury or death. The expert care proved necessary when it was revealed that the tip of the bolt had barely pierced Rusl's lung, which was in danger of collapsing. Fortunately the Crown Physician was able to safely remove the bolt and slather the wound with a rather rare Zora water blossom ointment to clot the wound and stave off any infection. He was then able to dress and bind the wound such that Rusl was well on his way to recovery by the time that they reached Castle Town, though he wouldn't be doing anything but lying down for some time. The Physician did warn the King that it was a grave injury indeed, and had Rusl not received immediate treatment as he did, they would have been carrying his body home. The King shuddered to think what might have happened had Rusl been treated by Borville, the town doctor, who had excellent credentials, but had grown cynical in his old age, and lost the drive to save life at any cost. With that thought, the King remembered how so many times He had told His daughter of her mother's last words, "With Life, there is always Hope."_

_Upon their arrival in Castle Town, a crowd had gathered to see the state of their King, for rumors traveled faster than any caravan. The King rode in at the front of the procession to assure the citizens that they did, indeed, still have a King, and proceeded to lead the cavalcade through the Main Square of town, past the fountain, and through the front gate of the Castle. Once through the front gate, the great wooden doors were closed, and the King could finally relax, for a moment. He was greeted by His daughter, her eyes bloodshot with worry and restrained tears. After she had hugged Him, and verbally berated Him for ever getting into such danger, she made her way to the covered wagon and personally thanked Rusl for the safety of her father. On her knees next to him, she bent down and kissed him on the forehead, an act that, to this day, had never been repeated. _

_Uli was escorted in by one of the heralds. The King thought it only proper that he should send a messenger to inform her that her husband had been injured, but was being treated by the Crown Physician. However, He had neglected to describe just how serious Rusl's injuries were, so her first sight of Rusl was of him laid out in the wagon, a very bloody bandage on his side, his chest wrapped to apply pressure to the dressing, and the Crown Princess kneeling next to him looking as though she might burst into weeping at any moment. At that point Uli was already stressed, and very, very pregnant with their first child. The midwives had estimated that she would give birth within the month, but they hadn't taken into account that the site of her husband, looking bloodied and near-death, might give her the impression that he had taken a turn for the worst during the return trip, and that it would send her into hysterics that ultimately caused her collapse and hastened her labor to that very moment._

_So it was that the Crown Physician found himself once again in service to someone other than the King. Although premature, Uli's labor proceeded without incident, but the Physician noted that the child, a boy whom they named Colin, would need special attention for the next few months to ensure that he developed properly. It was a suggestion that Uli took to heart, for she was very cautious with the child, an attitude that she never lost. She always kept a close watch on Colin and discouraged him from doing anything remotely dangerous, which gave him a somewhat timid personality, and some thought of him as weak._

Once Colin was old enough to travel, Uli insisted on moving to Ordona, her childhood home. The King was unhappy to let another Servant of the Kingdom relocate to the far Southern land, but it did provide Him with another trusted contact there. It was actually Bo and Rusl that had proposed the idea of Fealty to the King to the villagers, rather than the King suggesting it Himself. They explained the benefits to the villagers regarding protection from any hostile armies or thieves, and support in case of famine. In return, the villagers would provide able-bodied men who could be spared from village-duties if Hyrule needed to raise an army, and they would be the first alarm and defense against invasion from the South, which hadn't happened in ages, and probably never would. However, should the improbable occur, the King knew that the villagers would fight valiantly, because they would be defending their homes, not just a line on a map, and they would dispatch a messenger immediately to inform the King and request help from His forces.

The King thought it unlikely that the inhabitants of Ordona would ever need to fight, and sincerely hoped that they never would, but it was an extra precaution. A well-thought defense had never hurt a Kingdom, but carelessness had felled many, so He accepted their offer of Fealty, and Pledged His protection and support. The King never knew just how important this arrangement would be to the future of His Kingdom, and some would say that the Hands of the Goddesses were involved in the circumstances that had led to it.


	3. 3 Lessons

_To all you purists who might complain: I introduced Zelda's Nursemaid/Bodyguard because she needs a female rolefigure since her mother's not around, and Sheik was in the original character development for the game, but got rejected for the same reasons that my character interpretation of Zelda lets herself be locked up by Zant. The original Sheik character models were later used in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which is where I got my sparkly ideas for the transformation spell._

_**3 – Life Lessons**_

For once, Zelda was not standing at the window when she sensed Midna approaching. She didn't know why her usual habit was to stare out at her despondent Kingdom. Was it better than simply staring at a stone wall? Perhaps it was just a form of self-persecution because she felt that simply being confined wasn't enough. Did she force herself to look upon the ruin of her home as a punishment, or was she looking for hope? She remembered how her father often told her, "With Life, there is always Hope." It was something her mother often said, though she only knew that from her father.

She wondered what her mother would say now. Zelda was alive, her Kingdom and its inhabitants were, technically, still alive… mostly. If one could call the purgatory of a bodiless, spirit existence being alive. Was that all that mattered? Was that all that was needed for hope? Could there truly be hope, unless there was also a chance, a vision, of retaking what was hers? Was life alone enough for hope, and was hope alone enough to restore her Kingdom? All she could do now was trust in her mother's words, and do as much as she could from her cell, what little she could do. Those were her thoughts when she would look out the barred window, but she had other things to think about right now, and why she was not at the window, as usual. Instead she was sitting on her bed, contemplating the somewhat unexpected turn of events that had recently transpired, when Midna floated up _through_ the floor in a pretentious manner.

"Not sulking at the window anymore I see," it chided, "doing so was such a waste of time, it's not like you could do anything about what you saw, anyway."

Zelda ignored the taunt and pressed on to some of the questions that had been plaguing her since their last meeting. "Midna, who is coming here to help us? Is he another of your kind, a denizen of Twilight?"

Midna looked positively insulted. "No, he's nothing like me. As if I would ever be that weak!" and it turned its back on Zelda to air-sit

"You said that he would be of help to us though, how?"

"I said that he _might_ be able to help _me_. You just might get a chance to meet him. Whether or not he can help you is none of my concern, and it's a wonder that the shadow beasts didn't slay him on sight. Apparently, he's _interesting_ enough to be observed where he can be controlled."

"So the shadow beasts have him," and Zelda pondered the subtle meaning of both the terms "interesting" and "controlled." "What do you know about him?"

Midna giggled and replied, "It seems that he took a wrong turn in Ordona and got lost near the Twilight. He must have drawn attention to himself to be pulled through the Veil like that. Not very smart if you ask me."

_Midna first saw the intruder while watching a group of shadow beasts on patrol near the Veil, when one of them stopped and began vaguely staring at the Veil itself. Midna wondered if it had somehow sensed her presence and was about to leave, when she realized that it wasn't, in fact, looking _at_ the Veil, but _through_ it. Suddenly, it reached out through the Veil and pulled a young Hylian back into the Twilight. The shadow beast held a boy by the neck, peering at him closely as he struggled to free himself. The boy fought valiantly, but having been caught by surprise, unarmed, and at a disadvantage in strength, it seemed his fate was inevitable. He pried at the shadow beast's clutch on him with no effect, until Midna sensed something begin to build in the air, like the charge before a storm. A blinding flash of golden light flung the two apart, and Midna sensed the enormous magical power in that flash, deciding it was worth the risk to watch and see what happened next._

_He couldn't have been past his teen years, but was late into them. Midna could tell that he was accustomed to manual labor by his figure. He wasn't overly muscular, but he looked quite able to lift and carry heavy burdens, as was common with the chores of most all boys. He looked as though he would be a fine player at any of the sports and contests that boys favored, whether running, swimming, or wrestling. Midna's face heated at these thoughts. Previously, as a proper Twili woman, before her forced transformation, she might have dallied with him in a romantic tryst, perhaps even taught him a few things. _

_The Twili weren't shy about their bodies or the feelings and urges that surfaced between a man and woman. To suppress them would be to deny one's own nature, which never lead to any good. If two individuals had an interest in each other, they would court, and explore what pleased the other mentally, emotionally, and physically. More often than not, the investigation of physical pleasures would be quite thorough. They would stay together until they decided to move on, or sometimes they would decide to stay together for the rest of their lives. Midna hadn't considered ever staying with any boy for the rest of her life, but she did entertain the thought of teaching this one a few things._

_She was broken out of her fantasy when she noticed that the boy was having some trouble. He was prone on the ground, gasping for air. She remembered that the Twilight wasn't friendly to Light-dwellers, and though he might have the will to resist it for a moment, he would soon become as a wayward spirit. However, the boy seemed intent to disagree._

_She watched in fascination as the boy struggled. The look in his eyes changed from surprise, to desperation, and finally, to single-minded determination. His eyes became fierce, like a beast, a wild predator, and then the rest of his body followed. She watched, astonished, as he changed, not into a wisp of spirit, but into a great wolf. Grey fur replaced clothing. Ears, just as pointed as before, disappeared from the side of his head and reappeared at the top. A bushy tail and terrible jaws, as effective as any sword, completed his transformation. The one thing that remained unchanged was his eyes, they were as blue and expressive as before, and they stared up at the Twilight sky for a moment before he collapsed, exhausted from the conversion. For a split second, Midna saw one forepaw glow with the same golden light that had repulsed the shadow beast, and a set of triangles faded into the fur._

_The shadow beast had reoriented itself and approached the wolf. It hadn't seen the transformation, so it stared at it stupidly for a moment wondering where it came from, and where its previous prey had gone. It was confused, and decided that the best thing to do would be to bring the wolf back to its master and let him decide the animal's fate. As the shadow beast dragged the boy__**/**__wolf behind it, Midna realized that, by turning into a wolf, the boy had indeed manifested his spirit. This was the true nature of his spirit, and therefore perfectly suited to existing in the Twilight, because he would need to be ferocious and courageous to survive, especially with the state of who was in control of the Twilight now. _

Zelda contemplated Midna's words. _Ordona? The Twilight extends that far? Who could have come from there that would be powerful enough to resist the effects of Twilight?_ The question tugged at a memory. She had made a trip to Ordona once. Her father considered it a part of her Royal Education, but no one that she met, either on the journey or at the destination, had that kind of power. Will and determination they had in abundance, for they were a hardy people in Ordon Village, but it would take an exceptional power to resist the Twilight.

Zelda was marked by the power that kept her in human form, the triangles on the back of her right hand that had been there since birth. Only two other people had any idea of what it meant, and neither of them was her father. He did not have a magical talent. A shrewd and wise Ruler He was, but a Sorcerer King He was not. He preferred the practical and the tangible, and it served Him well. He didn't concern Himself with old legends and therefore didn't give a second thought to the mark on Zelda's hand. It was a shape that appeared on the Royal Crest, and He simply thought that it was a small sign from the Goddesses to signify her Royal Destiny as Heir to the Kingdom.

Zelda had learned that it was the symbol of the Triforce, a religious relic to some, and much more to those who new its true history. It was a sign of Destiny, certainly, but it was a Destiny greater than the Crown. The Triforce was an object of conflict, it was power, and power was always sought after. It symbolized the power within Zelda, the reason that she could sense and work magic, and that she was Chosen. She was Chosen by the Goddesses to be a part of a conflict, a dreadful conflict that stretched throughout the ages, though she didn't know of it yet.

As Zelda reflected on the Triforce mark on her hand, she noticed that Midna would steal looks at it, trying not to be detected. _Why would it be interested in the Triforce, and what connection does the Triforce have to Ordona or this stranger that Midna speaks of? _Once again, a memory pestered her and she thought back to the events leading to her outing to Ordona.

***

Zelda and her father had once again taken the annual reports from the citizens of the different Provinces. Court had been concluded and they were taking their evening meal together, attended only by Zelda's nursemaid-turned-bodyguard, Impana.

Impana was a member of the Sheikah, a warrior race as rare as the disappearing Gerudo. The King knew that His duties to the Kingdom would keep Him from raising His daughter like a normal commoner, and that the nursemaid chosen for her would need to be able to defend the small child at a moment's notice, without appearing too hostile when simply baby-sitting. Impana had been about thirteen when Zelda was born, and had enough experience with younger brothers and sisters in her own family that she could pass as an adequate nursemaid once Zelda had passed infancy and needed the supervision that a toddler required. At fifteen she was nearly the correct age and had the necessary energy to fill the position of Crown-Toddler-Disaster-Avoider (an unofficial title that the King greatly enjoyed using), and more importantly, being a Sheikah, she was already better trained as a warrior and bodyguard than most of the Castle Guard.

Over the years, Zelda had come to think of Impana as an older sister, since they could talk about subjects that adolescent children would never speak off with their parents, especially between a daughter and her father, such as girlish tittering about boys. Impana supported Zelda's secret forays outside of the Castle to mingle with the commoners, though she hadn't yet mentioned it to Zelda. Impana's opinion was that being shut up in the Castle was no way to learn about the common people that were the lifeblood of the Kingdom, and decided that allowing Zelda to undertake such lessons was a service to the Crown.

Impana was one of the few people who understood what the Triforce mark on Zelda's hand truly meant, and what it indicated. It was a sign of dormant magical ability, and once that ability began to manifest, it was Impana who guided Zelda and trained her in its use. Impana also had a gift for magic, she called it shadow magic, and told Zelda that it was this fact that bound the Sheikah to the Royal Family and service to the Kingdom.

One day, Zelda asked Impana, "Why does my magic feel different from yours?"

"Actually, it's both different and the same," Impana replied. "Magic can have the feel of many different elements, depending on its nature and its use. The magic used to light a candle obviously has a fire nature, but the magic used to snuff it can be an inversion of the same fire magic, wind magic to blow it out, water magic to quench it, or shadow magic to cause the flame to weaken and die out. It's all magic, but it takes different forms or feels depending on the nature of the user and the job it performs.

"My people have always had a peculiar affinity for shadow magic. Our tribe has always been close to the spirits, and sometimes skirts the boundary that separates this world from the next. We speak to the benevolent spirits for guidance, and defend this Realm from the malevolent spirits that seek to spread sadness in an effort to relieve their own." A slight grin cracked Impana's lips as she continued, "It seems that shadow magic is also very useful for sneaking and concealment, a fact that makes us invaluable to the Crown."

Zelda knew that spies were a necessity for the King. When your enemies had spies, you would be wise to acquire a few of your own, and there were none better than the Sheikah. What Impana had said about her tribe being close to the spirits was quite true, and there were a few rumors about her seeming somewhat other-worldly. Foreigners knew of Hyrule's Shadow-Spy, and feared her. Even the Castle staff were spooked by Impana, and Zelda barely restrained her giggles when servants would scurry out of the way whenever Impana walked the corridors. Zelda thought on this for a moment and a question that she had been contemplating for some time surfaced.

"Impana, what is it that binds you and your tribe to the Royal Family?"

Impana's smile faded as she thought about her response, until she took a deep breath and began to speak. "Most Sheikah only know that it is our duty to serve the Crown and the Kingdom. Service is the price, the responsibility that balances the power that our abilities give to us. Only a few know the true reason that we are bound, though. Those are the elders of the Sheikah, your father the King, and myself as a Royal Liaison and Guardian. You are the Crown Princess and the future Ruler of Hyrule, so I suppose it is about time that you learned the Story of the Sheikah.

"The Sheikah were one of the first peoples of Hylia. Perhaps because we were able to draw on the wisdom of the benevolent spirits, we were able to develop a civilization before the others, so we were there to watch. We watched the other races, the Goron, Zora, and Hylian, grow and create empires in their own lands. As an older race, we decided it would be best to allow the younger ones to make their own way without interference, so we watched as they met, made treaties, and learned to live as neighbors. We let them grow and discover themselves while we assumed our accustomed role of communing with the spirits and defending this Realm from the darkness.

"The younger races weren't aware of the malevolence that lurked in the darkness, spirits that were jealous of the light and life in our Realm and wanted to steal or destroy it. Our talent and affinity for the Shadows meant that we were ideally suited to defend against it, and that is how we became to be known as the _Shadow Folk_. Building partnerships between races is hard enough without having to worry about ill-tempered spirits, so we spared them of that concern. We figured it was only natural that we assume that responsibility since we were an older race, but some weren't happy with being burdened with an unobserved, and therefore thankless, responsibility.

"There was a Schism among the Sheikah tribe, some of the Sheikah thought that the younger races owed us compensation for the work that we did, and some thought that perhaps we should rule the younger races rather than serve them. It so happens that of the individuals that thought this, the most magically gifted and powerful were among them. They twisted their shadow magic into evil, drawing power from the other Realm, and began to oppress those who were weaker than them, Sheikah and Hylian alike. Battles were fought between the Dark Ones and the early Kings of Hyrule. Sometimes, good-natured Sheikah were mistakenly caught by the Hylian patrols. After all, war is an ugly business, and misunderstandings do happen. This is half of the reason why the Sheikah eye that is our symbol has a tear of blood under it. It represents that misunderstanding between the Sheikah and the Crown, and the bond of blood between us.

"The Dark Ones wanted to create a kingdom in their own image, and nearly succeeded, but as the Sheikah had first watched over the younger races, the Goddesses were watching the Sheikah. The Goddesses sent Spirits of Light, Ordona, Faron, Eldin, and Lanayru. Yes, the same names of the Provinces of Hyrule, for they became the namesakes of those Provinces. They were sent to preserve the balance between Light and Shadow, a balance that the Sheikah should have been preserving had we not been stricken with our civil unrest. However, the Goddesses were forced to act due to our failure of responsibility and of maturity. These Light Spirits chased the Shadow Sorcerers across the lands of Hylia, pursuing them to the edge or our Realm, until the Shadow Sorcerers were banished, forced into the Shadow Realm that they had drawn their power from, the Realm that they were meant to defend this world from.

"No one knows what happened to the Sheikah that were banished once they left our world. Only that it was a significant portion of our tribe that we would never see again. The rest of us Sheikah, who had fought against the Shadow Sorcerers, were left with the terrible shame of what those from our tribe had attempted to do. That is other reason for the tear of blood under the Sheikah Eye. The Light Spirits, having completed their task, went to their chosen resting places and fell dormant, watching the world pass in half-sleep. They did so to once again preserve the balance of the world. As there cannot be too much shadow in the world, there also cannot be too much light, just as a healthy crop will wither under too much sun. With the Light Spirits resting, the remaining Sheikah chose to take up their old responsibility of maintaining that balance, blood-bound with the Crown, so that we and your line of Kings may never forget.

"My tribe still maintains that balance and still defends this Realm from evil spirits. Only a few know this, Auru is one, as is your father, but He chooses to concern Himself with the Kingdom and leave us to do our work as we see fit. It's an understanding that suits us well, and when He calls on us for a special task, we are more than willing to assist, as it is our duty. There has been a few times in history that our tribe has been called into major action and used our magic. The most recent was when we had to banish the confluence of evil power in the old prison grounds deep in the West Desert. A creature of darkness was drawn to the old execution sword by the hate and pain that the blade had absorbed, and manifested a Demon Blade. We sealed it to the earth in the lower vault of the grounds with magic and talismans, and that was some time ago, before my grandparents were born. Before that was to assist the last Great Hero in ages past. It's said that one of our kind even taught him how to master time itself in order to defend the Kingdom from a great evil."

Zelda was startled out of her attentive listening and asked, "Master Time? You can't be serious!"

"That is how the legend of the Hero of Time is told," Impana rebuked. "Perhaps I will tell you that story as well, sometime. He was mortal, and could not travel to infinite destinations or points in time, but back and forth to key moments. These were the necessary limits to how much he could manipulate time, so as not to interfere with balance of his world and very existence, but he was chosen by the Goddesses to wield a great power, much like yourself.

"The symbol of the Tri-Force on your hand marks you with that power. The Sheikah Elders know it. Auru recognizes it. The only other person that knows what it truly means is the old Sheikah sage woman who lives in the abandoned village in the Northeast. Though, she might have told some of her cats. She must have at least twenty of them that live with her and roam the village by now. She has an old duty to fulfill, and is determined to stay in that village until it's completed, and I suppose being a little senile helps when she's the only one left there. That and the company of her cats, but her loyalty to her duty of "Waiting for the Messenger" is still admirable. Crazy old coot."

Zelda just stared as Impana's tangent story wound to an end, then Impana shook her head and clapped her hands together, rubbing them briskly, getting ready to continue the magical lessons.

"Now I think its time we get back to teaching you how to use that power. Shall we teach you a disguise?"

"A disguise? Why should I need that?" Zelda asked, much too innocently.

"Zelda, I've been a spy, a smuggler, and even a thief, all for your father. If I didn't know that you had been sneaking out of the castle to frolic with the commoners, I would be greatly remiss in my duties. It's only a matter of time before you're spotted and possibly recognized. You can drop the new disguise once you're in Castle Town to use your usual one and be yourself. Outside the Castle walls, none of the town residents will believe that they're looking at the Crown Princess wearing commoner's clothes and wandering about after dark."

Zelda blushed at having been caught and stared down at the ground. She had been very careful not to be noticed and thought that she had succeeded admirably up until now.

"It's not that I don't approve," Impana continued, "but I think we should take steps to be slightly more subtle. Shall we teach you a new spell?"

"A new spell? I thought you said a needed a disguise?"

"You do, and I'm going to teach you a Glamour, a magical disguise. It should fit well with some of your tomboy tendencies," Impana said with a smirk. "If my memory serves me correctly, it's been used by other Crown Princesses before you, and it resembles the remarkable Sheikah that assisted the Hero of Time. It's the image of a young Sheikah male, perhaps about nineteen years old, we call him _Sheik_."

"How original," Zelda replied, dryly.

"True," Impana admitted, "but it holds a certain mystery. You can't exactly be mysterious if everyone knows you by a traditional name like 'Philip' now can you?"

Zelda saw the sense of the name, then listened avidly as Impana described Sheik and explained, "Now hold the image of Sheik in your mind, then make your magic into a cloak and pull it around you. Let it drape around you, settle like a fine silk, and sink into your skin."

Zelda did as she was instructed, and when she opened her eyes Impana was smiling. The last few magical sparkles were fading from her body and she looked down to see a young man's arms and hands in front of her.

"Normally this Glamour is an aspect of Shadow magic, but you seemed to have used Light magic for the same effect," Impana remarked. "Interesting, instead of using Shadow to conceal one nature, you use Light to project another. Very impressive."

Zelda was far too distracted to listen to what Impana was saying, and marveling at what, to all her senses, was her new body. She was wearing what she liked to think of as the traditional Sheikah _sneak-suit_, made of tights and linen ribbon wraps. She ran her fingers along her arms and legs and could feel every touch as if it were her own skin. Then she grew alarmed and suddenly looked down at her chest.

"Impana! Where? What?"

"Calm down, girl! They're still there, and you're still you!

"But I can feel the new clothes and this wrap that I'm wearing, and… WHAT HAPPENED TO MY CHEST! Oh Goddesses!"

Impana was amused when she saw Zelda both pale and blush at the same time, then pulled Zelda's chin up to look her in the eye. "Everything is fine. This is a powerful Glamour. To all senses you are exactly what you look like, but you don't have to worry about getting stuck this way. You should be able to feel the tiny draw of magic that the spell takes to maintain itself after the initial draw of setting it. If you cut that feed of energy, the spell will be dismissed and you will return to your true form. Until then, you have the form of Sheik in all aspects."

Zelda began to calm down and searched within herself to find the magical draw, which she soon found and examined closely. It was like a slight drip of water from a leaf. It was barely any magic at all, but just enough of a drip to keep the spell "wet." The hard part was setting the spell, that's what took the most magical energy, but once it was in place, it maintained itself without any thought or attention from Zelda. All she needed to do to dismiss the spell was to stop the drip by cutting off her magic from it, and it would "dry out" and dismiss on its own.

"They beauty of this Glamour is that it's self sustaining," Impana explained. "Even if you are knocked unconscious, you won't loose the spell, not until you run out of magical energy. This, with the rate at which it uses that energy, would take quite some time to happen."

Zelda examined her appearance as much as she could without a mirror, and decided that she would have to try this exercise again once she was back in her private chamber with a full length mirror to see herself better. That idea also brought her thoughts to just how realistic the glamour might be without the sheikah wraps. The blush that had faded from her cheeks began to return and Impana knew what Zelda was thinking, since it was the same thought that Impana had pondered when she first learned the same skill as a younger woman.

"This outfit is an embodiment of the skills a Sheikah possesses," Impana lectured. "Cleverness and cunning are valuable Sheikah skills. The linen bindings can be unwrapped or cut away and used to dress a wound, or as a substitute for rope or twine should you ever need to tie something. Quickness and agility are also important, so the suit provides ease of movement and flexibility, and once I've taught you how to move like a Sheikah in this form, I'll teach you how to fight like one, too."

True to her word, Impana taught Zelda, as Sheik, to keep to the shadows and move unseen, and disappear impossibly quickly if she ever was seen. Impana even taught her how to use the oldest and most effective of Sheikah weapons, the needle kunai and the steel chain whip. Zelda learned how the needle kunai could be used as a long range throwing weapon, and in close range to add a deadly sting to a well-aimed hand strike. She also learned how to use the chain whip to create a spinning defensive wall, and channel a magical charge through it for extra damage to anyone that it would strike.

After Zelda was trained in the _Sheik_ guise, she was able to move undetected throughout the Castle as well as betwixt it and the surrounding town. On the exceptionally rare occasion that she was detected, she could simply slip back into the shadows or vanish in a puff of smoke. After some time, the occasional rumor about a castle ghost would be whispered in the corridors between servants. Suddenly, Impana realized the enormity of the freedom that she had just given to a flowering young woman who, Impana had recently noticed, was taking sidelong looks at most of the younger men in the Castle Guard.

Impana was an imposing warrior and even unsettled some people with her other-worldly qualities, but she was not a stranger to relationships or romance. People have needs both physical and emotional, and Impana was known to have a discrete romantic and physical parlay with the occasional Castle Guard. Impana preferred men from the Guard because they were usually in the excellent physical condition of a soldier, and, a warrior herself, she enjoyed the feel of a muscular physique. The Guard also provided another advantage to a woman who was not about to settle down. Hyrule enlisted soldiers from all over the land, and they were all required to serve at least one tour-of-duty in the Castle Guard, as well as rotate to various other posts in the Kingdom when needed. Impana might fancy a soldier during his stay at his Castle post, and when he was inevitably notified of his new post, they could part ways without the awkwardness of an emotional break-up.

Impana knew that Zelda was feeling those needs as well, and could very well act on them now that she could sneak around the Castle with impunity. Impana was the only real female role model in Zelda's life, but she despised thinking of herself as a surrogate mother. If only because it made her feel old, and the words "old" and "warrior" didn't often mix well. She preferred to think of herself as a big sister, the kind of sister that whispered all kinds of hints and tips about worldly experiences to a younger sister, and inflict womanly wrath upon any who would harm or disappoint that younger one. With this in mind, Impana decided that she would watch Zelda very closely, and teach her some lessons of womanhood, before any unfortunate mistakes were made.

Impana noticed that Zelda had settled her attentions on one young member of the Castle Guard in particular. He was the same age as Zelda, fresh out of training and into his uniform. That he had fallen into Castle Duty as his first assignment was just chance. He was average height, slim, but strong and wiry, and ate a like a bottomless pit in the mess hall. In other words, a classic farm-boy, but smart and educated, and he often had a gleam in his eye that meant some mischief in the soldier's barracks was sure to follow.

Impana taught Zelda how to disguise herself in Castle servant's clothes and act the part so as to mingle with the staff and soldiers unnoticed. When she was disguised, she would often find the young Guard while he was off-duty, and they spent most evenings in conversation by candlelight, and sometimes not in conversation. When the young Guard would accidentally find a bruise left by the Master-At-Arms in her continuing and constant physical training, it conveniently only re-enforced her disguise as a servant that was part of the daily bustle of serving the Castle.

Impana always knew which semi-deserted portion of the castle that Zelda wandered off to with candle in hand to meet the young man and talk to him, and even surreptitiously watched and listened from the shadows, to make sure things didn't get out of control, of course. Until one night, Impana saw Zelda leave her chamber without a candle to guide her way. This time, Zelda vanished into the shadows, and Impana was unable to trail her. Not a hint of the usual sparkles or flashes of light gave her away, since her attitude of surreptitiousness had influenced her abilities to assume the form of Sheikah shadow magic. Apparently Zelda had sometimes noticed when Impana had been watching and listening in, and wanted to be sure that she wasn't followed or discovered. Impana was surprised and impressed that Zelda could hide from her so quickly, and also slightly disappointed that she was unable to follow. The curious sort, she had wanted to see how Zelda would handle herself, and be there in case the young man got out of hand. All Impana could do was wait and hope that all went well.

It was well after midnight when Impana noticed something. In fact, dawn wasn't too far off. The stars still shown clearly, but the horizon held a hint of color. Zelda, only visible as a different shadow on the shadows of the hallway, softly padded down the corridor, and opened her door. She paused in the doorway to glance down the hallway in Impana's hidden direction, and with a blush and a smile, she slipped into her chamber without a sound. Impana smirked and returned to her own quarters, deciding that if Zelda chose to share the events of that night, she would do so in her own time.

The next morning Zelda sat down to breakfast with her father and Impana. Her father didn't notice her wince as she sat down, but Impana did and gave Zelda a knowing look. Zelda only blushed and became very interested in her breakfast. When the King had gone to attend to His duties the two women retired to the garden. As soon as they were out of earshot of any of the servants, Zelda looked at Impana and giggled.

"I trust your evening was… interesting?" Impana commented with a grin.

"I'm sure you already know," Zelda responded with a roll of her eyes.

"Actually, your sheikah skills are becoming quite advanced."

"What?"

"You have no idea how much it pains me to say it, but still, you managed to lose me last night, and that's quite an accomplishment."

"So why didn't you just follow from the barracks to the west tower?"

"So that's where you were," Impana commented. "The west tower looks out over the lake and the desert beyond. It provides an excellent view of the stars at night. I've often watched the skies from there, but never thought of using it for taking a partner. Nice choice, very romantic.

Zelda blushed at the phrase "taking a partner," knowing that Impana meant it literally. Her blush became crimson as she realized that Impana was telling her that she knew exactly what happened in the tower that night.

"I had thought of following from the barracks. Then I decided that if you could evade me, the Shadow-Spy of the King, you were entitled to a night on your own." Impana smirked, "I'm glad to hear you used it well."

"Yes, I did indeed…" and Zelda giggled once more and began to tell her "big sister" everything.

When she was finished telling Impana her story of that night, they both sat in reflection, until Impana broke the silence. "Next time I have a late night tryst, I may have to try a visit to the west tower, myself."

Zelda went wide-eyed and sputtered, "But…"

"Unless, of course, you'd prefer to have it just to yourself. Sometimes a girl has to have her own personal secret place. I promise not to tell your father about your lofty little love-nest." Impana teased. Zelda just stood there, horrified at the thought of her father ever hearing of such a thing.

Later, while Zelda was having supper with Impana and the King, He paused in the middle of His meal, set His fork down, leaned forward with elbows on the edge of the table, and folded His hands together. Zelda's heart pounded nervously as the King looked across the table at Zelda, then closed his eyes in contemplation for a time. During the unwatched moment Zelda shot a betrayed look at Impana and silently mouthed the words "You told!" Impana returned the look only with wide eyes and shook her head in denial. Zelda's expression shifted to complete confusion and they both looked to the King just as He cleared His throat and opened His eyes again.

"Zelda, dear, I have task for you," the King began.

Zelda let her breath out slowly in relief, and she noticed Impana's hands loosen their tight grip on the table edge.

"I'd like for you to make a Crown visit in my place," He continued. "I want you to travel to Ordona. It's simply a visit to reinforce our Oathbinding and their Fealty to the Crown. Also, it will be an educational experience for you, a chance to really see our Kingdom and its people on your own. You will be in command once you leave the Castle Town walls, the leader of this envoy. You will be the Crown Princess, and treated accordingly, as if you were Myself, the King."

Zelda heard the emphasis on the Titles, understanding that this was an Official Crown Function. During her travels, she would be equal to the King to all who were with her and saw her. She could hold her own Court each morning if she so chose. Though the King had taught her that, when traveling, a simple Official Status Report each morning was quite sufficient. The only thing that she couldn't do was countermand an Official Crown Edict from the King.

"Listen to me. I sound so somber," the King said. "Truly, Ordon Village is as ideal a model as I can find of our land and its people outside of Castle Town, and far enough from the Castle not to be caught up in its bustle and politics. It is part of your education as Crown Princess, but most of all I want you to get out of the Castle and see our Kingdom for yourself."

Zelda couldn't suppress her smile and began to excitedly look back and forth between her father and Impana.

"How wonderful, father! I promise, I won't disappoint you."

"I'm sure you won't, but there is something very important that I want you to remember," the King said solemnly.

"Yes father?"

"You must promise…"

Zelda sat in rapt attention.

"To have fun," he finished with a smile.


	4. 4 Journeys

_**4 – Journeys**_

As Zelda sat, reflecting on what little information she had gathered from her conversations with Midna, she made idle movements with her hand. She would tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, or flatten out a fold of her dress, all the while surreptitiously watching Midna in the periphery of her vision. She watched Midna's eyes follow the Triforce symbol on her hand with each movement. It made Midna look so much like a cat that it was almost comical.

Midna stopped watching Zelda's hand and floated in the air, arms crossed, and staring down at the floor. Then Zelda realized that Midna wasn't staring at the floor, but someplace below it… the dungeons? Midna had said that the mysterious person, a male from Ordona, had been pulled through the Veil of Twilight and was being brought here. Shortly thereafter, Midna left to check on him, and later returned by coming up through the floor. Perhaps up from the dungeons?

The dungeons hadn't been used in ages, and were mostly in disrepair. The late King had been about to refurbish the dungeons into something more respectable, mainly to keep any structural aspects of the base of Castle from degrading. The King didn't get to see His pet-project launched, though. Before it began, He…

One tear slipped down Zelda's cheek, and she closed her eyes to regain her self-discipline. She didn't want to be emotionally sidetracked while trying to piece together the memories that had been slowly knitting together as she gathered information from her conversations with Midna. She decided to probe a little further, or at least until Midna lost patience and left.

"He's here, isn't he? In the dungeons?"

Midna looked surprised for a moment, then annoyed, and turned to air-sit, legs crossed.

"He isn't being nearly as useful as I would have liked," Midna stated. "Last I checked, he was just testing the end of his chain, walking in circles. At least he's awake now, if disappointing."

Zelda considered what Midna told her. The visitor from Ordona was imprisoned, and apparently couldn't free himself without help. Was all of his power or ability being used to resist the Twilight, and there simply wasn't any left to enact an escape? Or was there just some outside influence that protected him from the effects of Twilight? And why was Midna suddenly so interested in the mark of the Triforce since she had found this lost Ordona male?

Midna shook her head in disdain, and sighed while floating towards the door.

"I suppose I'll have to do something about that chain before I can make use of him for anything at all. At least it will be a good way to show him who's boss. Maybe, just maybe, if he follows directions, we can give Zant an unpleasant surprise." Midna finished with a wicked grin.

Midna clenched both fists and glared in the direction of the Castle Keep, up at the Tower of the High Throne Room. Midna was beginning to obsess, and was radiating hate at the Usurper whose name had just slipped.

"You'll get exactly what you deserve, and," she continued with a wicked smile at Zelda, "we'll both get what's ours back."

Zelda sat in silence while Midna departed. Once she was sure that she was quite alone again, she began to talk to herself to sort out the facts that she had gathered, starting with Midna's name dropping.

"So Midna knows the Usurper by name, Zant. There's definitely something personal between the two of them, and what did Midna mean by 'We'll get what's ours back?' My Kingdom was taken. Did Zant take something equally as important from Midna? Equal to a Kingdom?

"Why was Midna so interested in the mark of the Triforce? What connection does it have with the Ordona male? I've visited Ordona, and didn't notice anything that resembled the Triforce. Ordon Village is just that, a small village. It was full of people that worked the land, not magic."

As Zelda thought over facts, and the questions that still outnumbered them, she absentmindedly scratched an itch on the back of her hand. She stopped mid-thought and looked at her hand, realizing that she had been scratching right over the mark of the Triforce, which still itched slightly. It brought her memories back to her trip to Ordona, and more pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place.

***

A week after Zelda's breakfast with her father, when He had announced Zelda's "educational" excursion, the arrangements had been made for her travels. The Royal Entourage had been gathered, supplies secured, wagons readied, and the horses brushed down and gleaming. The caravan would take longer to travel than a lone messenger rider, therefore it was estimated that it would take a day to cross South Hyrule Field, another to traverse the Faron Woods, and then arrive in Ordon Village after only a short period of travel the next morning.

The morning of their departure, both Zelda and Impana mounted their horses and took their place at the front of the Entourage, only preceded by a pair of mounted Crown Guard. The Commander of the Crown Guard was decidedly not happy with this decision. He insisted that Zelda should travel in the middle of the caravan, where it was safest and they were the most sheltered. Impana fixed an icy glare on him as he voiced his opinion and its merits, and halfway through his list of security reasons of why they should follow his suggestions, he began to visibly wilt under Impana's stare. Once he had complete deflated, Impana explained that the safest position in the caravan was next to her, and that it was highly unlikely that her particular services would be needed during the short procession through Castle Town. Once she had made her point clear, the Commander reluctantly agreed, but trotted his mount to the front of the Entourage and replaced one of the lead Royal Guardsman. Impana smiled once his back was turned as he took his place. The noticeable demonstration of his sense of duty to protect the Princess illustrated his loyalty, even after a dressing-down by a (technically) superior officer. It was this show of the citizens' love and respect for the King and His Heir that most reassured Impana that there shouldn't be any trouble during the procession, or the rest of the journey. She still remained always alert and on guard, however, because that was her job. At least it was a job that she enjoyed, not only did it suit her protective nature, but the companionship of the Princess was inestimable.

The trumpets sounded and the Gates of the Castle Courtyard were opened, greeted by the cheers from the crowd of citizens. As the procession made its way through the Fountain Square and down to the South Gate, the sun shown down, sparkling off the waters of the fountain and the white paving tiles of the Square, and the cheers followed them all the way to the Main Gate. While the King and Princess both frequented Castle Town, an Official Crown Procession happened more rarely, and everyone wanted to take part in the revelry and celebration. Citizens feasted on foods from the open-air shops, and adorned the road with flowers from the florists' stalls. Their departure was truly as picturesque as was naturally possible, even a small assembly of cats lined up along the road near the south alley, presumably to show their respect. As they left the Main Gate, both Zelda and Impana knew that the festival would continue throughout the morning and afternoon, and the merchants would be happy to provide the people with whatever they desired to make the occasion an all-day event.

As they made their way along the road and out of site of the Castle Town Gates, the caravan adopted a less formal configuration. Guardsmen's mounts spread out to a more comfortable distance, rather than the tight, strict processional lines. A rider occasionally made a circuit around the caravan with water to refresh the Guardsmen and wagon drivers, and the whole group assumed a steady, efficient pace.

At the end of the day, in South Hyrule Field, they made camp at the edge of a spring-fed pond in the middle of the field. The Crown Pavilion was assembled, but Zelda ordered that nothing more then the sleeping cots for herself and Impana be unpacked and installed inside.

"It will make breaking camp in the morning that much easier," she insisted. Impana agreed. Zelda would have liked to leave the canvas door and window flaps of the Pavilion open during the night to let the breezes flow through, along with all the scents of the open field, but Impana convinced her otherwise, if simply to maintain the decorum of the Crown Princess. Zelda reluctantly agreed, but opened them at the first opportunity the following morning.

They broke camp quickly, and by mid-day they had entered the Faron Woods. At this point the Caravan's pace slowed due to the uneven terrain. The roads through the woods were maintained and passable, but the land still rolled of its own accord. The road didn't cut through it evenly, it followed the natural contours, and Zelda approved. Most animals shied away from the commotion of the caravan, but a few tree dwellers still scurried overhead. The birds could be heard singing their praises to the sky, and more then one squirrel noisily scolded the Guardsmen for interrupting their usual foraging.

They passed the clearing where Coro was selling lanterns and oil, stopping for a moment to rest the horses and check on his business. Zelda only had to reassure him once or twice that they were more than adequately stocked for illumination purposes, but still bought one for her personal use in the Pavilion. She counted out a few coins, ignoring his protests and insisting that the Crown could well afford paying for his "fine merchandise." Zelda told him it was just in case she needed lamplight to write by. Coro was barely able to contain his excitement of being at service to the Crown Princess. The Guardsmen were uninterested, and Impana just smiled.

Just past Coro's lantern shop, there was a road splitting off to the west and leading deeper into the woods. Zelda stood at the fork of the road and looked down the path.

"If you plan on heading down that way, you'll definitely need plenty of lanterns. The forest gets pretty dense along that way, and the fog is something else," Coro commented.

"Fortunately we're headed to Ordon Village, and the travel will be much easier," Zelda replied, "but thank-you for the advice."

Coro nearly floated back to his cabin with pride.

"Impana," Zelda called, and Impana strolled over to view the forest road with Zelda. "Something feels different about the forest there."

"So you can sense it, too," Impana replied. As she saw Zelda's puzzled expression she explained further, "The old Forest Temple lies down that path, deep in the heart of the woods. It's abandoned now, but it's still a focus of magic in the forest, few even know that it exists." Impana then handed a small scroll to Zelda. As Zelda unfurled it, she recognized her father's handwriting.

~Impana is to give you a Royal Lesson in the Forest. Listen carefully.~

Zelda looked up from the note to Impana, who simply said, "Follow me."

As they walked down the path, just enough to be out of hearing range of the others, Impana continued, "Few know of the old Forest Temple, even fewer know of the Sacred Grove beyond it. Besides ourselves and the King, I believe that only old Auru possesses any knowledge of its existence and location. In essence, the Forest Temple is simply a gateway, or guard post, to the Lost Woods. The Lost Woods are protected by magic, and aptly named. It's said that only the pure of heart can find their way through it, or out of it, once they've entered. Legend says that it was once inhabited by the spirits of children, the most pure hearts of all. Who knows if they're still there, no one has seen it in ages, at least no one who has come back, anyway. Just as the Forest Temple is guard post to the Lost Woods, the Lost Woods serve as a gateway to the Sacred Grove. An old Temple stands on ground that was sacred even before the Temple was built, and in this Temple is a Keystone which is the resting place of the Master Sword."

"The Master Sword is real?" Zelda asked incredulously.

"Very real," replied Impana, "but unseen for ages. Probably for as long as the Lost Woods have remained shielded from any mortal eyes. The Master Sword is a Weapon of Virtue. Only a Righteous hand can hold it. It will physically repel or purify all Evil it encounters. It is a Divine Instrument, and it has saved this Kingdom from true Evil on more then one occasion."

"So the old legends are true…" Zelda reflected.

"Yes, and the King wanted you to have this knowledge in case the Kingdom was truly threatened sometime in your lifetime, as rare as that chance may be. Someday, it will be your turn to pass this knowledge down to your Heir. Consider it a Crown Secret, and a Crown Responsibility."

Zelda quietly reflected on what she had learned for the rest of the afternoon and evening, until it was time to stop and set camp. The caravan made camp in the clearing just south of the Faron Spring. As the Pavilion was being assembled once again, Impana found Zelda sitting at the edge of the clearing, watching the preparations of camp. The wagons were being unpacked, since this was to be a semi-permanent camp. It would remain here along with most of the Royal Entourage while only Zelda and Impana crossed the Ordon Bridge into the Village. The Entourage could support itself from its stocks, but it would be a burden on the village to try to support it, so the caravan, its attendants, and the Guardsmen would remain here while the Crown Visit was made. Impana sat down beside Zelda, grateful for a respite.

"This seems a good opportunity to work on some of your magical training," Impana announced.

"Here?"

"Yes, here. It's actually an excellent setting for this lesson."

"And which lesson would this be?" Zelda asked.

"Sensing and Tracking," Impana answered with a grin.

"So it's a Sheikah lesson?" Zelda responded, her interest perked, "So where do we begin?"

"Simple, you close your eyes."

"I what?" Zelda asked dubiously, "How do I track with my eyes closed?"

"Truthfully, the lesson is more about Sensing," Impana replied, "but it can be used for Tracking, and more importantly, Sensing when you are the one being tracked. Now close your eyes and follow my directions."

Zelda reluctantly did as she was told, and the sounds of the camp became a little sharper. She felt the grass under her and the dampness of the forest.

"Remember the feeling you got when you sensed the Forest Temple?" Impana asked.

"Yes. It felt like pressure, or the heavy feeling before a storm."

"Good, that's the feeling of magic that is focused in the Temple. Now use that part of your senses to get a general feel of the area around us, of the camp."

Zelda stretched out her magical senses and began to "feel out" the camp and its surrounding area. It began to take shape in her mind.

"It's…. green?" Zelda said, unsure. "Yes, green… but a deep green, and the people are shadows of other colors on top of it. One of them, by the Pavilion is a ruddy brown-red color."

"That's one of the Pavilion attendants, he's having trouble setting the stakes and tie-downs, he's frustrated," Impana answered with a grin.

"The cook-wagon, they're a dull orange, like a pumpkin."

"The cooks are already at work, they should have the evening meal ready once camp is set."

"There's something else close by the cook wagon though, a shadow, dark, it doesn't want to be seen."

"That's the fox in the bushes looking to see if it's worth trying to get something from the cook-wagon."

Zelda opened her eyes and looked across the clearing. Low in the bushes, hidden in a shadow, was a fox, its ears flattened down so as not to betray its presence. Only its eyes and nose were visible as it peered over the low branch that concealed the rest of its body. Its gaze shifted to Zelda, and in a blink it had backed into the shadow of the bush.

Zelda closed her eyes again, searching for any trace of the fox; she narrowed her senses until she could "see" some of the larger bugs and smaller forest animals going about their normal business, different shades of green on the green of the forest.

"He's gone," Zelda said, disappointed.

"He sensed you," Impana replied as she laughed. "You see, all life creates the energy of magic, some get to sense it and use it. As we emanate that energy, it's colored by our feelings, our desires. The fox didn't want to be seen, so he looked like a shadow to your senses. Animals can sense like this, I don't know if they see colors, but they can usually sense when they are being hunted. Now, let's get something to eat and turn in for the night, we'll be up early so that we can arrive in the village shortly after morning. Besides, the wolf that's fifty yards to the east is probably wondering why we're sitting off to the edge of camp for so long."

Zelda was shocked for a moment before she gave Impana an alarmed look.

"He's mostly harmless," Impana continued, "the wolves are more cautious of people than foxes. They don't scavenge as much, so we're more threats then opportunities."

Zelda reached out with her senses and felt the same "shadow" as before, only slightly bigger and denser, reflecting the difference between the wolf and the fox. Suddenly, the shadow switched to a smoky confused swirl as it realized it was being "hunted", then to the ash-gray of its natural state as it gave up the pretense of hiding. Before it moved off deeper into the forest, Zelda felt a slight pressure on her senses, like a push or bump.

"What was that?" Zelda asked.

"One hunter acknowledging another," Impana replied. "Let's get something to eat, before the cooks are scraping the bottom of the cook-pot." Though, truthfully, the cooks wouldn't dare if the Princess's meal depended on it.

Early the next morning, Zelda and Impana set out for Ordon Village. As their horses were being prepared, a lone Guardsman rode into camp from the trail to Ordon Bridge, after scouting the trail ahead. While probably unnecessary for this excursion, it was normal procedure. The only thing he had to report was that a girl was leading a horse from Ordon Spring back towards the village as he was scouting. The Guardsman was a son of a farming family, and being familiar with the breeding and care of horses, remarked that the girl's horse was as fine as Zelda's and Impana's.

The two exchanged looks, as both of the Royal Mounts that they were riding were of the most respected bloodline in Hyrule, and reserved for the Royal Family, generals, and high ranking officers. The Lon-Lon line of horses was one of the most closely guarded treasures of the Kingdom. They were sturdy, calm, intelligent, could ride for days on end, and extremely powerful. The same horse could be ridden for leisure, speed, or war, all in the same day. They were not sold, ever. On very rare occasions, one could be a gift, if it had chosen that person as its rider, and only if it was a mare. Stallions were never gifted to become the stud for some noble to continually breed, and they were never gelded. The breeding wasn't organized, it was left up to the mares, which could choose a stallion better than any Stable Manager, as nature intended.

While all of the Lon-Lon horses were cared for equally by the Crown Stables, half of the herd, a multihued range of colors, socks, blazes, and dapples, grazed the pastures without an official rider. The Crown could afford it, but more importantly, it was always the horse that chose its rider. If a person had the opportunity to ride a Lon-Lon horse, they would frequent the stables and ride among the herd (while mounted on a different breed horse). Usually, after a short time, a few Lon-Lon horses would begin to show interest, until one approached the potential rider. After the horse selected its rider, training would begin, of both horse _and_ rider.

The horses of the Lon-Lon line were fiercely loyal to their riders, and exceptionally intelligent. They bonded with their riders. If the rider had a family, the horse accepted them as its family, and allowed them to ride. If the bonded rider asked the horse, or in the event of an emergency when the bonded rider needed help, the horse would allow a stranger to ride it, but only under those circumstances. In Zelda's memory, there was only one time that a person tried to break one of the Lon-Lon horses and force it to submit. After the ensuing chaos, the horse wasn't broken, but the would-be rider was, quite literally. Fortunately, the Lon-Lon horses could put that ferocity to good use, and would valiantly protect their riders. If the situation called for it, they were war horses, and would fight as brutally as a loyal soldier. The history texts had a few stories about a General of the Hyrule Army being saved from a gang of enemy soldiers by his loyal Lon-Lon horse, and if a Lon-Lon fell in battle, it was given the same Honors as a Soldier of the Kingdom.

The news of a horse of the same quality as a Lon-Lon was worth investigating, as it was unlikely that anyone would mistake a Lon-Lon for a horse of lesser breeding, and mistaking a common horse for a Lon-Lon was impossible for anyone but the blind.

Impana and Zelda discussed the possibility of a Lon-Lon finding its way to a remote village as they made the short trip from the clearing and over Ordon Bridge. They stopped at Ordon Spring for just a moment to allow their horses a drink if they needed, as well as to make sure that all was in order for their Royal Entrance. Zelda's father had taught her that first impressions were important, and doubly so to the Crown on any Official Function. Once all was assured to be in order, they continued to the entrance of the village.

Just before the entrance of the village they noticed that a large tree had been fashioned into a home for one of the residents of the village. Truth be told, they nearly missed it entirely. Zelda just happened to glance to her left as they approached the village, and caught Impana's attention when she exclaimed a surprised "Oh!" It must have been an old watchtower for the village. It was on top of a slight outcrop of earth, a ladder leading up to the landing by the front door. At the top of the tree a window looked down into the clearing and out over the valley of Ordon Village. Anyone rushing to the entrance of the village intent on attack would completely miss it. The door was easily defended, since anyone would have to climb the ladder first, and then there still wasn't enough room on the earthen outcrop to use a ram to force the door in. A window in the height of the house-tree would allow a watcher or guard to send a warning arrow over the valley, either a fire-arrow or a Kabura-ya, a whistling arrow, or a flaming Kabura-ya to really get the message across.

Whoever lived there probably had a strong protective instinct, and as Impana looked around she saw a few sparring dummies set up on the edge of the clearing. The dummies had been battered, broken, and mended. They looked as though they had been abused by Bokken, wooden practice swords, for years. Well-worn marks showed in precise striking areas, disarming and disabling strikes on the limbs, as well as fatal slashes and thrusts to the chest. One dummy's pumpkin-and-bucket "head" was askew and cracked from an excellent overhand strike. Impana approved.

They continued past the watch-house and could see the entrance to Ordon Village where a small contingent of village-folk was sitting in the grass, waiting to greet them. Once they saw her they stood up and made a formal line. As Zelda approached, she recognized Rusl and Mayor Bo from attending Royal Court with her father. She assumed she would be introduced to the others in the group once she dismounted, but she wasn't too concerned about the formalities because it a was a rural village, and she enjoyed the home-like feeling. Also, she was a bit preoccupied by the fact that her hand had been itching since they passed the clearing of the guard/tree-house. She made a mental note to stop scratching it, figuring that, under her formal glove, her skin must already be red over the mark of the Triforce that was a part of her. She stopped her horse in front of the small welcome delegation, dismounted, and began the formal introductions.


End file.
